Device brand: be a part of the decision.

Your doctor may have told you that you need an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). The decision whether or not to get the ICD should not be taken lightly. Once it’s been implanted, the device and leads will be there for the rest of your life, so having an ICD means a lifelong commitment. You should understand all the facts, implications and future consequences of getting the device.

As a patient and patient advocate, I encourage you to do as I did and become an active participant in this important decision. There are several device makers, and the selection of a brand should not be left to the doctor alone.


You must not only consider the overall features of a generator, its longevity, charge times, and ability to reduce unnecessary RV pacing, but you must also take into account a device manufacturer’s ethical standards, its sense of corporate responsibility and the entire brand experience.

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The ICD User Group is a non-profit resource for people living with ICDs, candidates for ICD surgery, and their friends and families. As patients ourselves, we encourage other patients to educate themselves, know their choices, and become active participants in their health care.

In reference to: Google Sidewiki entry on Medtronic’s Web site.

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Medtronic’s hitting the Twittersphere. Should others follow?

While I applaud Medtronic’s first real foray into the Twittersphere, I must say the experience left me wanting more.

As a patient (and potentially lifetime consumer of their heart devices), it’s great to see that Medtronic is not only listening, but also willing to engage. I followed their tweets broadcasted from this year's HFSA Scientific Meeting in Boston, but got little out of them.

Medtronic appears to have aimed their tweets mainly at conference attendees, not at folks who, like me, couldn’t be at the conference. No doubt the twitpics were a very nice touch. But perhaps, next time we can also get links to press releases, result studies and even, dare I say it, a video or two.

Boston Scientific, St. Jude and other device makers don’t seem to have yet awaken to the power of social media and the impact patients are having in this brave new online world of Web 2.0. But I hope they’ll soon follow Medtronic's example.

MDTHeartFailure Twitter page:
http://twitter.com/MDTHeartFailure

Hashtag #HFSA:
http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23HFSA

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